Esse Ray Lucas v. City of Visalia

The opinion of the court was delivered by: Jennifer L. Thurston United States Magistrate Judge

ORDER SETTING SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE (Doc. 117)

Before the Court is the stipulation of the parties seeking a settlement conference. In the stipulation, the parties recall the Court has conducted one settlement conference and, at that time, the matter was not amenable to settlement due, at least in part, to the fact that Defendants intended to file a motion for summary judgment which, they believed, would be fully successful. Now, the parties report the dispositive motion has been filed but not decided. Due to the impending pretrial and trial dates, the parties wish to engage in further formal settlement efforts.

The parties do not report whether they have engaged in discussions since the last settlement conference in an attempt to resolve the matter. However, the Court stands ready to assist the parties if they believe such efforts are likely to be fruitful.

ORDER

Based upon the request of the parties, the Court ORDERS:

1. A settlement conference is set on May 30, 2013 at 9:30 a.m. at the United States Courthouse located at 510 19th Street, Bakersfield, CA; 3 2. Unless otherwise permitted in advance by the Court, the attorneys who will try the 4 case shall appear at the settlement conference with the parties and the person or persons having full 5 authority to negotiate and settle the case on any terms*fn1 at the conference. 6

3. At least 21 days before the settlement conference, Plaintiff SHALL submit to Defendant via fax or e-mail, a written itemization of damages and a meaningful*fn2 settlement demand 8 which includes an explanation why such a settlement is appropriate. 9

4. No later than 14 days before the settlement conference, Defendant SHALL respond, via fax or e-mail, with an acceptance of the offer or with a meaningful counteroffer which includes an explanation why such a settlement is appropriate.

5. If settlement is not achieved, each party SHALL attach copies of their settlement offers to their Confidential Settlement Conference Statement, as described below. Copies of these documents shall not be filed on the court docket.

6. At least five court days prior to the Settlement Conference, the parties shall submit, by e-mail to JLTOrders@caed.uscourts.gov, a confidential settlement conference statement. The statement should not be filed with the Clerk of the Court nor served on any other party, although the parties may file a "Notice of Lodging of Settlement Conference Statement." Each statement shall be clearly marked "confidential" with the date and time of the Settlement Conference indicated prominently thereon. The Confidential Settlement Conference Statement shall include the following:

A. A brief statement of the facts of the case.

B. A brief statement of the claims and defenses, i.e., statutory or other grounds upon which the claims are founded; a forthright evaluation of the parties' likelihood of prevailing on the claims and defenses; and a description of the major issues in dispute.

C. A summary of the proceedings to date.

D. An estimate of the cost and time to be expended for further discovery, pretrial and trial.

E. The relief sought.

F. The party's position on settlement, including present demands and offers and a history of past settlement discussions, offers and demands.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

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